Airport Commissioners Join Their Critics : Bureaucracy: County supervisors have let them handle details of John Wayne expansion project. Members admit they could have done a better job.

Members of a little-known panel appointed to be the Board of Supervisors’ eyes and ears at John Wayne Airport suggested last week that they should have been more aggressive in dealing with the facility’s problem-plagued, $310-million expansion project.

“Perhaps we should have asked some harder questions earlier on as to whether or not the (initial) architectural problems were going to head us down a road not only full of budgetary problems, but delays as well,” said Gary Proctor, a criminal defense lawyer who chairs the five-member Orange County Airport Commission.

“But I don’t know if a body that meets but twice a month is capable of overseeing such a large public works project,” he added.

Proctor’s comments last week came only hours after the Orange County Grand Jury issued a report critical of the county’s management of the airport expansion program. The grand jury cited costly design errors and delays caused by attempting to redesign the new, $61-million passenger terminal after construction had already begun.

The report spread the blame around, citing HPV, a firm hired to manage the project, prime contractor Taylor Woodrow California Construction Ltd. and county officials.

Three weeks ago the supervisors stripped Taylor Woodrow of a separate, $25-million contract for construction of a airport parking garage and elevated roadway, and Taylor Woodrow followed with a lawsuit accusing the county of breach of contract.

Even before the grand jury released its report last week, the airport project’s troubles caused a rash of finger-pointing, with airport commissioners among the targets. Three years ago county officials decided to let the commission bird-dog the work instead of forming a special county task force.

But Airport Commissioner Dave Prebish acknowledges, “The commission is not playing an aggressive role.” Prebish, a Hughes Aircraft engineer, added, “I think in the case of the construction project the commission is on the reactive side.”

The five members of the commission are friends and political supporters of the supervisors who appointed them. There rarely have been any disagreements. And although individual commissioners sometimes ask tough questions of airport staff or inspect the construction site, the panel almost always approves whatever the county staff recommends.

Last week, for example, the commissioners routinely approved several million dollars’ worth of construction change orders that pushed the cost of the new passenger terminal to more than $61 million. Not a single question was posed at their public session.

Despite having what should be an especially good vantage point for assessing what’s gone wrong with the airport project, commission members interviewed by The Times said they don’t have enough information to draw conclusions--and possibly never will.

In the midst of a crisis three weeks ago, when county officials were deciding to fire Taylor Woodrow from the parking garage job, Airport Commissioner Robert Cashman, an Anaheim manufacturer and newspaper publisher appointed by Supervisor Don R. Roth, said:

“We’re working hard, because we know who the supervisors will blame if they get into political trouble over this.”

Still, the supervisors took several actions against Taylor Woodrow before the commission could meet and approve them in public session.

“Sometimes I think that’s a little frustrating,” said Commissioner Michael Lapin, a Newport Beach shopping center owner. “Sometimes I feel we’ve been preempted.”

Proctor, appointed by Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez, has been one of the most aggressive members of the panel, often meeting with airport staff and officials of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Occasionally, when policies involving which airlines will serve John Wayne Airport are discussed, the panel’s meetings turn into heavily attended public hearings that often end in 3-2 votes.

Most often, however, the five commissioners, who earn $75 plus mileage for each meeting they attend, sit opposite a table staffed by airport officials with a sparse or nonexistent audience. The meetings are usually over in 30 minutes or less.

“Much goes on that the public doesn’t see,” Lapin said. “We do a lot of information-seeking in between meetings, calling staff and visiting the site.”

When Newport Beach objected to construction of the planned airport monorail, for example, Lapin said, he initiated meetings with city officials that eventually led to a “peaceful” settlement of the issue.

“The commission’s role is to be advisory to the Board of Supervisors and the airport manager,” Airport Manager George Rebella said. “I think we have an excellent group of commissioners right now. They ask questions like why we have to close a runway, and especially when it comes to the budget.”

Supervisor Thomas F. Riley agreed: “I’m pleased with their performance . . . . I think they give us valuable perspectives. But of course we have the final say on things.”

Former supervisor Bruce Nestande said the commission, which costs the county about $10,000 a year in operating expenses, was more aggressive in previous years because supervisors “programmed” panel members to examine specific issues.

The supervisors don’t involve themselves in the workings of the commission much these days, and the panel’s agenda is driven by the airport staff. Moreover, critical issues are brought to the supervisors before they ever get to the commission.

“We’ve had discussions on issues,” said Commissioner Don MacAllister, who is also a Huntington Beach city councilman, “but we’ve gone out pretty solid on what staff brings us because they do their homework. And although our ultimate decisions affect Orange County, our everyday constituents--the people who come and see us--are the airlines, the general aviation pilots and the FBOs (fixed-base operators, which are aircraft service providers based at the airfield).”